Romeo, Abueva rally Philippines past NZ

Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

3 p.m. – Talk n Text vs New Zealand

5 p.m. – Gilas Pilipinas vs Chinese Taipei

MANILA, Philippines - With just everything not working for Gilas Pilipinas, Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva came in towards the end of the third period and keyed a turnaround leading to a stirring 84-81 triumph over the Wellington Saints in Day Two of the Master Game Face MVP Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Romeo pumped in 16 of his 18 points in the last 12 minutes of the game while Abueva drilled in all of his 10 markers over the same stretch as Team Phl fashioned out a virtual repeat of its conquest of the Kiwis in the recent Jones Cup.

Gilas Pilipinas goes for a three-game sweep in the four-team, three-day pocket tourney as it takes on Chinese Taipei at 5 p.m. today, also at the Big Dome.  

PBA Draft top selections Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario showed a lot of promise with huge, livewire performances carrying Talk n Text to a 99-91 win over Chinese Taipei early on.

The Texters caught up with the Saints at 1-1 while the Taiwanese dropped to 0-2 in the event serving as the final warm-up tourney for Gilas and Chinese Taipei for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China.

The Nationals threw duds and clunkers three-fourths of the way before the flamboyant Gilas rookies came in and fuelled a searing run that caught the Kiwis flat-footed.

Gilas Pilipinas was still staring at a double-digit deficit at 63-73 when Abueva scored successive baskets on one-hand loopers while Romeo banged in three treys in a decisive attack that pushed Team Phl ahead at 78-76 entering the last three minutes of play.

Romeo scored four three-pointers in all and capped his heroics with two nerve-wracking charities making it 84-81 with 7.7 ticks to go.

Before those free throws, the Globalport hotshot was 0-of-5 from the stripe.

Emerging as Gilas’ new face, Romeo was tested and he passed with flying colors.

Romeo and Abueva came to the rescue when everyone else failed even when the Kiwis were giving the Nationals open shots from the outside.

Jayson Castro was 0-of-5, Gabe Norwood 0-of-4, Ranidel de Ocampo 0-of-2, Andray Blatche 1-of-4 and Dondon Hontiveros 2-of-6 from the arc.

 Playing coach Kevin Braswell, Richie Edwards and Ray Turner scored at least 17 points apiece for the Saints who dominated the first three quarters, leading by as many as 13 at 63-50.

Tautuaa, the PBA draft No. 1 pick, powered his way to 20 points and 13 rebounds while  Rosario, the second choice, collected 19 markers and nine boards as the Tropang Texters made a good account of themselves in humbling the Taiwanese side that is considered among the medal contenders in the coming FIBA Asia.

Danny Seigle and Denok Miranda also provided a big push as Talk n Text rebounded from a loss to Gilas Pilipinas on opening day.

Less than two weeks before the Asian meet, the Taiwanese are down to a nine-man team with big men Tseng Wen-ting and Wu Tai-hao, and gunner Lin Chi Chieh nursing slight injuries.

But nothing should be taken away from the tough effort of the Texters, fresh from a stint in an invitational tourney in Seoul, Korea.